West Fargo girl died awaiting organs in 2004, helped increase rate of donation

InForum, Fargo, North Dakota | Patrick Springer

FARGO – Some believe Alexa Kersting, who died seven years ago while waiting for a double lung transplant, today probably would have survived long enough for the donated organs to arrive.

That’s because the rate of organ donation has risen significantly since the 14-year-old West Fargo girl’s death in 2004, organ donation and medical officials said Friday.

And Alexa’s tragic story, which has been highlighted locally and nationally, is credited with helping to make that happen.

The issue of donating organs and the need for transplant organs and tissues are once again in the spotlight. Eleni Wilson, a 17-year-old West Fargo girl, died unexpectedly this week of a brain aneurysm and became an organ donor.

Read more: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/338731/group/Life/